What was the purpose of the Andøya Campaign 2023?

The Andøya campaign was undertaken in support of the upcoming Earth Explorer 9 Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring (FORUM) mission. The Far-infrared Spectrometer for Surface Emissivity (FINESSE), which is a ground-based Fourier Transform Specrometer, was deployed at the ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research) observatory in Andenes, Norway (69°16' N, 16° 0' E) between 6 February and 17 March 2023. These radiative measurements were accompanied by radiosonde releases, further ground-based remote sensing and in-situ sampling of cirrus cloud microphysical properties from aircraft.

The objectives of the campaign were to:

• deploy the new FINESSE spectrometer to an Arctic environment and investigate its performance
• measure the downwelling radiative signatures of ice clouds co-incident with in-situ measurements from aircraft
• measure the radiance emitted by snow and ice surfaces for the retrieval of far-infrared surface emissivity
• measure the downwelling radiance of other scenes

The primary data collected during the campaign are radiance spectra in the spectral range 400 to 1600 cm^-1 (6.3 to 25 μm). The pressure, air temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration in the vicinity of the interferometer were also recorded.

What was the outcome of the Andøya Campaign 2023?

The measurements demonstrate that the FINESSE spectrometer performed well in the challenging Arctic conditions. The measurements can also be used in the future to retrieve far-infrared emissivity of ice and snow surfaces and to test the performance of ice cloud models in the far-infrared. Both of these studies are necessary for the FORUM mission.

Download the Andøya 2023 Final Report

Digital Object Identifier: European Space Agency, 2023, FINESSE at Andøya campaign, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-e8a8e82

The campaign data is available online via FTPS upon submission of a data access request. An active EO Sign In account is required to submit the request.

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